Home Lives: A Case Study
by MegaKiraraLover
Summary: A series of various oneshots detailing the home lives of our favorite Jellicle Cats. Chapters so far: Rum Tum Tugger, Mistoffelees, Gus&Jellylorum, Mungojerrie&Rumpleteazer, Etcetera-cat-
1. A Curious Owner Rum Tum Tugger

_Home Lives:  
__A Case Study_

Oneshot Summary: The Rum Tum Tugger. A look into an hour with the surprising owner and even more surprising homelife of the constantly contrary Rum Tum Tugger. pre-/during-/post-musical (it doesn't matter)

Story Type: Family, Hurt/Comfort, Tragedy

Next Chapter: Mistoffelees (Story Type: Family, Mystery)

Pairings: Canon (including one-sided) (possibly temporarily), I.E. MunkustrapDemeter AND OTHERS. Also look out for: TuggerBombalurina, SkimbleshanksJennyanydots, CoricopatTantomile, and whatever else pops up. I'll take your opinions into concideration. ^.^

Disclaimer: I don't own the "CATS" movie. If I owned the "CATS" movie, Mistoffelees would have a longer dance number and Gus would have been the one to go to the Heavyside Layer instead of Grizabella (after all, the poor man/cat IS older and probably deserved it more...). Go away now while I mourn this horrible loss.

_**Notes/Warnings (you only have to read what's bolded/italicized/underlined if you want):  
**_Nothing other than an eventual post-story _**OC death**_. Oh, and _**slight OOC-ness**_. You'll see. :D  
Now enough with the boring stuff; let's start the story! :D Yay!

_**Rum Tum Tugger:  
**__**A Curious Owner**_

_(1)-_

_The Rum Tum Tugger is a curious cat!_

_And there isn't any use for you to doubt it!_

_For he will do as he do do;_

_And there's no doing anything about it!_

_-(1)_

If there was one word to describe how Tugger was when he went to the Junkyard, it was contrary. If you wanted him to do something, it was likely he'd do the opposite; it was impossible to trick him, as well, since he had lived with Munkustrap during his kittenhood and knew when something happened.

Tugger was friends with people one moment and then enemies the next. He loved his fangirls drooling over him, but at the same time he got mad if they did so. He would chase a rat and then trade with Mungojerrie or Skimbleshanks for a bird of some sort. There were few who could tollerate being around him for more than ten minutes, noticably excepting his father Old Deuteronomy, his brother Munkustrap, his mate Bombalurina, and his close friend Mistoffelees. Even the unflappable Coricopat and Tantomile sometimes had to blast him away with some magic because they became annoyed, and despite his rather handsome (if he did say so himself) fur coat, humans often left him alone after the first time he begged to be petted only to nip at them.

There was one exception to the human rule, of course, and that was his human owner, the ever-single Ms. Dorothy Weller.

Ms. Weller was just as contrary as Tugger was, in the cat's humble opinion. She was short and thin, nearly to dangerous levels, yet she ate more than any other human Tugger had ever met. She had no luck yet always managed to win at cards with her friends (some claim she cheeted, but Tugger thought she was too honest to do such, although sometimes even he wondered...). Whenever someone said Tugger was annoying, Ms. Weller whole-heartedly agreed, but she refused to let him stay away for more than a day without locking him in for up to a week to try and make sure it never happened again. There were other contraries, of course, but those will become apparant as you proceed to read about this strange relationship.

"Tock?" called the wizened voice of Tugger's owner from deeper inside of the room when the Maine Coon walked in one day after spending the night at the Junkyard. "Is that you, dear?"

Obediently, Tugger meowed and slunk gracefully into his owner's bedroom, where she was sitting on her bed reading the magazine. A faded smile greeted his arrival.

"I thought as much. You were out all night again. I swear, sometimes I wonder if I should remove that cat door of yours to make sure you stay home when it's dark out. You know how I feel about being alone."

"C'mon, you know you love me too much to do that," Tugger chuckled/purred as he jumped on the bed and settled down next to his owner. Ms. Weller chuckled herself.

"Or maybe I should have you neutered," Ms. Weller went on as if to remind Tugger of the painful idea even as she ran her bony fingers though Tugger's soft fur. "Yes, then we won't ever need to worry about the big bad Tock reproducing and producing little devil kittens."

Tugger wasn't at all purturbed by the suggestion and merely rolled onto his back as he meowed lightly. "Bah, you know you adore me."

Ms. Weller slowly began to scratch Tugger's stomach, gazing absently at the wall with old, tired blue eyes.

"...the children want to take me to a nursing home," she said suddenly, causing Tugger's purring to abruptly stop as he stared with wide brown eyes at his owner's face. Ms. Weller didn't notice, although her hand stilled on his stomach. "They say I'm getting much too old for me to stay on my own. But most nursing homes don't allow cats for the sake of the patients."

Panic began to flood Tugger, but he found, to his shock, it wasn't so much due to the thought of having to go through the hassle of finding another home as being due to the thought of his lovable old owner being stuck all alone in a nursing home. He wondered about the strangness of that even as Ms. Weller sighed wearily.

"I don't want to go, but I'm afraid they might be right." A meow escaped Tugger's throat and he rolled onto his stomach, sitting up and gazing at his owner's eyes, much of the once bright blue hidden by a mixture of her thick reading glasses and the cataracts on them. "I'm not as young as I was when I first found you, Tock. I'm nearing seventy-five, can barely see, and these heart problems..."

Ms. Weller's voice drifted off into silence before she sucked in a shaky breath.

"I forgot to take my medicine three times this week, Tock," she whispered in a fearful voice, finally looking away from the wall. Tugger felt something in his chest ache as he saw the confusion and honest panic hidden within them. "Three times, I forgot to take the medicine that could mean the difference between life and death for me. Imagine if Sarah hadn't called me just yesterday about Alexandrea's graduation? I could have..."

Tugger remembered the last time Ms. Weller didn't take her medicine for three days straight. It had resulted in a month-long trip to the hospital and much time lying with Bombalurina in the Junkyard, his thoughts bouncing around and lacking their usual bounciness. Only Munkustrap and Mistoffelees seemed to understand what was wrong and shared knowing looks when they thought he wasn't watching.

Something wet landed on Tugger's nose and he blinked before his eyes widened when he saw the tears running down Ms. Weller's wizened face, catching the smile lines that weren't so smiling anymore.

"Oh, Tock," she sobbed suddenly, gathering Tugger to her chest and burrying her face in the fur on his neck. It wasn't often that his owner showed any kind of affection other than petting, food, and playful threats, but Tugger found himself unable to protest as she continued to pour out her heart to him. "What am I going to do? What are _you_ going to do? You're...for nearly twenty years, you've been my only true friend, Tock. You're even older than I am in cat years...what if...how would it be if...one of us..."

It had never really occured to Tugger just how long he had been with his owner. As a Jellicle, he aged much the same as a human, even though most normal cats didn't. It never occured to Tugger how much he could be scaring Ms. Weller by simply being alive another day; by not leaving. The thought had never crossed his mind before. But now...

Tugger didn't know how he felt about this, so he simply remained still in his human's arms as she cried herself to sleep.

_**Rum Tum Tugger:  
**__**Epilog**_

Two weeks later, Ms. Weller and Tock moved in with Ms. Weller's youngest daughter, 45-year-old Sarah and her granddaughter, 25-year-old Alexandrea. After hearing her mother's worries, Sarah ahd graciously decided that it would be better for Ms. Weller to live with family rather than with strangers. Three years later, Ms. Weller died in her sleep with her old cat Tock by her side.

After the funeral, Sarah and Alexandrea never saw Tock again.


	2. A Magical Family Mistoffelees

_Home Lives:  
__A Case Study_

Oneshot Summary: The Original Conjouring Cat. A look into an hour with the large, loving family of the magical Mr. Mistoffelees. pre-/during-musical (it doesn't matter)

Story Type: Family, Mystery

Next Chapter: Gus (Story Type: Family, Tragedy, Hurt/Comfort)

Pairings: Canon (including one-sided) (possibly temporarily), I.E. MunkustrapDemeter AND OTHERS. Also look out for: TuggerBombalurina, SkimbleshanksJennyanydots, CoricopatTantomile, and whatever else pops up. I'll take your opinions into concideration. ^.^

Disclaimer: I don't own the "CATS" movie. If I owned the "CATS" movie, Mistoffelees would have a longer dance number and Gus would have been the one to go to the Heavyside Layer instead of Grizabella (after all, the poor man/cat IS older and probably deserved it more...). Go away now while I mourn this horrible loss.

_**Notes/Warnings (you only have to read what's bolded/italicized/underlined if you want):**_

Nothing other than _**foul language**_ from teenage owners. :D

Now enough with the boring stuff; let's start the story! :D Yay!

_**Mr. Mistoffelees:  
**__**A Magical Family**_

_(1)-_

_There's no such cat in the metropolis,_

_He holds all the _pat_ent monopolies_

_For preforming sur_pris_ing il_lus_ions_

_And ec_cen_tric con_fus_ions..._

_-(1)_

Mistoffelees was one cat that could be concidered a bit of a mystery in and of himself. It took him weeks to learn simple tricks like teleporting a fork, but he managed to do a Jellicle summoning without even being sure he knew how to in the first place. Not only that, but his fur constantly changed color, depending on the day; sometimes it was the usual black with white back legs and chest and starburst face, sometimes it was pure black, and sometimes it was white and black with _sparkles_ in it. Not only that, but he managed to hate the unhatable Tugger but still have the gall to call them friends at the same time.

So, yes, Mistofffelees was a mystery. But for the Jellicle Tribe of Old Deuteronomy, his family was an even bigger mystery.

Barely anyone knew anything beyond the fact that they lived in one of the fanciest districts in London, near Mistoffelees' uncle, Bustopher Jones. There were rumours that he lived with an elderly couple (sometimes, Tugger ended up flinching whenever someone suggested that near him), other rumours that he lived with a single young bachelour, and yet more rumours that he lived with a family of absolutely epic proportions. The Original Conjouring Cat refused to answer any questions on the matter.

They would probably be surprised with how true some of those guesses were.

One day, not too long after a Jellicle Ball, Mistoffelees was roused from his half-asleep state in front of the fire by the sound of voices in the hall nearby.

"But how do we prove he did it?" whispered the high-pitched voice of one of his owners, 10-year-old Dylan.

"We catch him in the act, dumbass," the 15-year-old, Alan, hissed back before a smacking sound was heard. "Graaah! What the hell, Diana!"

"Don't swear," 14-year-old Diana said simply. Nothing more needed to be said; with a mutter, Alan fell obediently silent.

"But how do we catch him in the act? I mean, we never actually _see_ him steal anything; we just assume it's him!" Dylan asked/said, sounding as though he was used to the reactions of the others.

"Fahllow 'im!" 5-year-old Tyler chirped cheerfully, not even keeping his voice down. Diana gently shushed him and he giggled quietly as Mistoffelees cracked open his light grey eyes. In the hallway next to his head, the shadows of four different children were standing close together, unaware of their new spectator.

"But we can't follow him, right?" Dylan querried. He was clearly becoming more confused by the minute. "I mean, he leaves the house so much...and he's a cat!" Mistoffelees' ears perked up even further at the exclaimed whisper. "His senses are a lot better than ours...right?"

"True, but we're humans and we're smarter," Alan arrogantly said before another smack sounded. "Hey! What the hell, Diana!"

"Don't insult the cat," repremanded Diana rather absently. Again, Alan muttered before obediently falling silent.

"Whee'll be supah-spies!" Tyler announced with another giggle. "Like on tha tee-vee!"

"But he's still a cat!" Dylan cried, apparently on the verge of tears.

"So?" Alan whispered, voice more subdued than earlier. "Who cares? We'll be able to follow him anyway-ow! That wasn't an insult, it was fact!"

"I know," Diana said, voice innocent. A hiss escaped Alan and he swore before being hit again and obediently falling silent.

"Followin', followin', followin' tha Quacks-oh!" giggled Tyler.

In the next room over, Mistoffelees rolled his eyes before closing them again and settling back down for a nap. He wasn't planning on going to the Jellicle Junkyard that day, anyway, nor stealing any spoons for practicing his magic on. But-

Suddenly, Mistoffelees climbed to his feet, stretching his paws forward with a yawn to hide his cat smirk. Maybe he would do something interesting, if for no other reason than to keep the kittens on their toes. He knew being forced to stay in a set area was annoying for a small cat, let alone a human, so maybe some excitement was exactly what they all needed...

The kids were soon engaged in a game of Capture-the-Cat, and loosing. Badly.

"Where the hell did he go!" shouted Alan, sounding frusterated. As if summoned, Diana promptly appeared to smack him in the head, earning a startled yelp. "Hey! Stop doing that!"

"But, has she ever stopped before?" asked Dylan in confusion, he and Tyler showing up next to the two as well. "I mean, I thought she always was like this..."

"I was," Diana assured the child with a nod.

"Quacks-oh!" Tyler said happily, suddenly leaning down and clumsily picking up the small black and white tuxedo cat who was purring and twisting his way through the youngest child's legs. "Why'd ya run away from us, Quacks-oh? Meanie!"

Mistoffelees purred innocently as Tyler ran a heavy hand through his fur, smirking a cat smirk at the incredulous looks on the elder children's faces.

"Quaxo?" Dylan asked, seeming just as shocked as the others. Mistoffelees purred innocently again as Alan let out a much harsher curse than usual.

"Alan!" a new female voice suddenly shouted as the children's foster parent Anna walked into the room, looking offended and more than a little upset. "I thought I told you before not to speak like that!"

"B-but," stammered Alan as Diana smirked for the first time in a few days. Dylan snickered despite himself and Tyler continued to roughly pet Mistoffelees.

Anna continued before Alan could continue. "Especially around the younger children! What are you going to do if Tyler starts to think saying words like that are okay! He's at an age where he's learning from example!"

Alan shrinked in on himself slightly as Anna took his ear in one finger. "Come on, you're staying with Grandpa Jones tonight," she went on before dragging the protesting Alan up the stairs to where her father, Lenord Jones, and Mistoffelees' Uncle Bustopher Jones lived in peaceful coexistance. "And I'll make sure he knows how bad you've been!"

As soon as the two were out of earshot, Mistoffelees broke out in a fit of cat laughter and Diana's smirk widened.

"I told him not to swear," she said simply.

Mistoffelees only laughed harder in response.

_**Mr. Mistoffelees:  
**__**Epilog**_

Alan ended up spending that night listening to Grandpa Jones speak about all the great places he and "Jonesie" (Bustopher) had eaten in their lives, only to not eat himself that night. He stopped swearing quite as much as before-or at least triple checked to make sure no one else was around. He and Diana, his quiet and mischievious crush of nearly three years, ended up being adopted out shortly afterward. Years later the two met up again and ended up getting married.

Dylan, who had been with Anna the foster mother for nearly four years, ended up being adopted by the kind woman along with his younger brother Tyler. Although they had lost their true parents years before, they quickly found a new mother in Anna and took care of her as they grew older. Dylan eventually gained enough confidence to work in public speaking while young Tyler followed his secret dream and used his gift of connecting to any animal to become a vet.

Anna continued fostering children for twenty years before she was forced to stop. She kept her darling kitten Quaxo for eighteen of those years before he one day wandered off and never returned, but every life the tuxedo cat touched never forgot the mysterious and playful pet.


	3. A Healed Theatre Owner Gus&Jellylorum

_Home Lives:  
__A Case Study_

Oneshot Summary: The Theatre Cat/The Caretaker Cat. A look into an hour with the one person who still cares about the fate of the old cat-actor Gus and the one person who found it in him to care about the old actor's daughter and caretaker Jellylorum. post-musical

Story Type: Family, Tragedy, Hurt/Comfort

Next Chapter: Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer (Story Type: Family, Humor)

Pairings: Canon (including one-sided) (possibly temporarily), I.E. MunkustrapDemeter AND OTHERS. Also look out for: TuggerBombalurina, SkimbleshanksJennyanydots, CoricopatTantomile, and whatever else pops up. I'll take your opinions into concideration. ^.^

Disclaimer: I don't own the "CATS" movie. If I owned the "CATS" movie, Mistoffelees would have a longer dance number and Gus would have been the one to go to the Heavyside Layer instead of Grizabella (after all, the poor man/cat IS older and probably deserved it more...). Go away now while I mourn this horrible loss.

_**Notes/Warnings (you only have to read what's bolded/italicized/underlined if you want):  
**_For the first time, the _**death of a Jellicle**_ and _**unintentional (?) self-starvation**_. This is a very sad chapter and I'm hoping to make a few people cry. I know I did when thinking about writing it, let alone _actually_ writing it...  
It turned out a bit differently than the other two, but who am I to complain? I just do what the characters tell me to, haha. Now enough with the boring stuff; let's start the story. Make sure you have your tissues ready.

_**Gus/Jellylorum:  
**__**A Healed Theatre Owner**_

_(1)-_

_Gus is the cat at the theatre door;_

_His name, as I ought to have told you before,_

_Is really Asparagus-but that's such a fuss_

_To pronounce that we usually call him_

_Just..._Gus_._

_-(1)_

For years and years, Gus the Theatre Cat sat loyally outside of the old theatre house where he used to act, oblivious to the passing of time. He left only when his darling daughter Jellylorum took him somewhere for food or warmth, or when she fetched him to participate in the Jellicle Ball, where he regaled the kittens and even the oldest of cats there with stories of his own past. The last Jellicle Ball he had attended was the one where darling Grizabella, his younger cousin and the one who had followed in his footsteps as an actor(/actress) at the cost of no longer being a part of Uncle Deuteronomy's Jellicle Tribe, had been taken to the Heavyside Layer. Gus had been sad to see her go, but even his slightly broken mind knew full well that he would join her soon.

And join her soon he did; merely a week after that fateful Ball, Jellylorum had come for her morning visit with her father to find him curled up in a ball. When she went to joyfully wake him, she was sent into a state of instant shock to find him newly dead, his fur still warm even in the nippy spring air and with his lack of heartbeat.

Jellylorum, the Healer of the Jellicle Tribe, had been a loyal daughter from the beginning. Her father had already been old when she entered Queenhood at seventeen, he being fourty-seven years old, and she gave up any hope or want of a mate in favour of being his caretaker. So, naturally, when she found out that he had died after being cared for by her almost solely for over twenty-three years, she went a little crazy. She cried, she screamed, she begged, and finally she fell into a state of feeble disbelief and curled up around her dear father's stiffening body, gazing glassily at his face. She slipped in and out of consciousness without realizing it, and soon, four days had passed without her having been moved in the least as delerium began to take hold.

It was then that she met the theatre owner for the first time.

The Old Angel Theatre had been in business for fourty years when the son of its original owner, one Jacob Seraphi, inherited it. He was sorrowful over the loss of his father at the time, but at the same time he was thrilled to finally own the theatre he had grown up in, complete with the old cat who had been living outside for as long as he could remember.

Every week, when he came in to check up on the place, Jacob greeted the cat fondly called Fiddle after a part he or his ancestor (no one really knew for sure if the cats were even related, but it was legend to think that every cat generation had one who looked exactly like the theatre cat before it to look after the place) once played in Jacob's father's own musical creation. He would scratch the old cat behind the ears, make sure it wasn't looking sickly, then feed old Fiddle a bit of crust from his sandwitch before going inside. Fiddle always followed and seemed to be doing his own inspection of the place, recieving another bit of crust for his trouble and a final scratch before Jacob went off to spend time with his grown children.

However, that week, Jacob became concerned when Fiddle wasn't sitting in front of door like he expected. It only took a few moments for the theatre owner to check the alley next to his theatre, and it was then that he stumbled upon the horrifying, sad, and pitiful sight of Fiddle, dead, with an older brown- and blond-furred cat curled up around it, looking nearly dead itself.

Jacob instantly scooped up the slightly larger cat and felt faint relief when he realized it was still breathing, even if it was shallowly. The cat (or rather Queen-it was a female, he quickly realized) was thin as a rake and her fur was matted with dirt as if she hadn't cleaned herself in a while. She was quickly rushed to the conveniently close vet's clinic and instantly put in intensive care.

The whole time the cat was in the vet's office, Jacob couldn't help the worry and curiosity that surrounded him. Poor Fiddle was dead, and based solely on the female cat's reactions to this fact, he gathered the old cat's daughter had found him and decided to die. He wasn't sure if that was normal cat behavior, but there was no doubt in Jacob's mind that that was what had happened. He vowed to take care of the female cat in honour of his old childhood pseudo-pet and patiently waited for the Queen to awake.

And awake Jellylorum did-another three days later, a week almost to the hour after her father had died. She was deeply confused to find herself in an unknown house in what she thought, based solely on the descriptions other cats had given her, was the kind of bed humans made specificly for their pet cats. She meowed as loudly as she could only to hear her own voice crack from dissuse.

Before Jellylorum could puzzle over that confusing bit of information, a strange human male she had never seen before, probably about her age in human terms, with dark skin and a kind face.

"Good, you're awake," the man said as he walked over and gently sat down beside her. He inclined his head in a pseudo bow and Jellylorum blinked in surprise before nodding back, watching curiously as the man chuckled to himself. "Sorry if you think I'm odd-I think I read somewhere that you're supposed to bow to a cat when you meet them. My name's Jacob. I own the theatre where Fiddle lived."

Memories suddenly flooded Jellylorum and she remembered with stunning clarity what had happened. Walking up, noticing her father was still asleep, chattering happily about what they were going to do that day-but when she got closer, it turned out her father wasn't asleep-he was-dead-

The human Jacob suddenly gathered her into his lap and began stroking her head as she mewled patheticly.

"Poor thing," he muttered, his large fingers careful as he combed through Jellylorum's soft fur. She blearily wondered who had washed it before realizing it didn't matter. Her father was dead; as dead as Aunt Grizabella, more so; since he wasn't chosen to go to the Heavyside Layer by Great-Uncle Old Deuteronomy, there was no guarentee he would even be reborn...

"It's hard losing a father, isn't it?" asked Jacob whimsicly. Jellylorum glanced up without meaning to and saw the lost look on the human's face. "I just lost mine a few years ago. It was...weird-sad-not to have him there anymore. But after his funeral, I made a promise to him that I would carry on his Theatre and make sure it stayed up to his standards."

A slight smile crossed Jacob's face and he glanced down at the stunned Jellylorum. "You know, I've known Fiddle for my whole life, as long as I've known my father. He was already part of the Theatre when I came along. I always wanted to take him home with me, but Father didn't allow it; he was allergic to cats, even though he loved them dearly. But I took care of him as best as I could. I imagine you did as well?"

Jacob gently scratched Jellylorum behind the ears and she purred lightly despite herself, startled she could. How could she purr with her father dead? More importantly, how could she purr with her father dead without feeling remorseful about doing so? Just a few hours, days, maybe weeks ago she had found her father...

_'Smiling,'_ Jellylorum suddenly remembered, eyes widening slightly as she looked away from Jacob's face. _'He was...smiling. In his death. He...was he ready to pass on? To go to the Heavyside Layer? With his parents, his siblings, his aunt and uncles...his cousins?'_

"You know, I've been meaning to get a cat," Jacob said abruptly, cutting into Jellylorum's thoughts. She looked up at him in mild confusion as he went on, a slight smile in place. "What do you think? Two orphans of The Old Angel Theatre, toughing it out together and keeping the place running for our fathers?"

A thousand thoughts ran through Jellylorum's head, most of them being against the idea of becoming a _common house cat_, but then an image of her father welled up in her mind. Of dear old Gus, of the calm and cheerful look in his eyes even when thinking of the most tragic moments in the theatre he had lived in for as long as she could remember. Despite herself, Jellylorum arched her neck and back into Jacob's hand as he gently stroked her fur, agreeing with his terms.

Jacob was apparently one of the rare humans who understood animals, since he smiled faintly at her.

"Excellent," he said with a chuckle, continuing to stroke Jellylorum's fur. "Well, then, Althea, what do you say we get going? It's about time I check up on the Theatre again...and perhaps we can do something about poor Fiddle's body while we're down there..."

Althea, Healer, Wholesome. Yes, Jellylorum thought as she was carefully picked up and carried with care by Jacob, it was the perfect name for a Healer who needed healing herself. Hopefully, the first step along that path would be burrying her father's body.

It would be a long process, but she quickly became confident that, with Jacob's help, she could pull through and help her father's dream to stay alive.

_**Gus/Jellylorum:  
**__**Epilog**_

Up in the Heavyside Layer, Gus the Theatre Cat watched his daughter grow stronger with the human he himself had helped raise in his own way. It warmed his heart as he watched the two heal each other in ways they didn't even know they needed to be healed, and grew stronger for their experiences. It was fifteen years later, when Jellylorum was cheerfully acting the part of Macbeth's cat in a play in the Theatre, that his dear cousin sauntered over curiously to look over his shoulder at the show of the world below.

"Ah, she's grown beautiful, like her father," Grizabella noted with a slight smile. "You should be proud."

And as Jacob praised Althea for her job well done and recieved a purr and a nuzzle for his trouble, Gus couldn't help but smile his agreement.


	4. A Writer's Note

_Home Lives:  
__A Case Study_

Disclaimer: I don't own the "CATS" movie. If I owned the "CATS" movie, Mistoffelees would have a longer dance number and Gus would have been the one to go to the Heavyside Layer instead of Grizabella (after all, the poor man/cat IS older and probably deserved it more...). Go away now while I mourn this horrible loss.

_**Notes/Warnings (you only have to read what's bolded/italicized/underlined if you want):  
**_Nothing other than me talking. But I must warn you-**_I ramble_**. Mwahahahahaha! X3

_**MegaKiraraLover:  
**__**A Writer's Note**_

6-15-10

Hiya everyone! MKL here, to let you guys know a few things about this fic/series.

First of all, thank you to everyone who reviewed so far. I was gone from the computer for less than five hours earlier and when I came back, I found out that I had ten new emails from alerts alone! Wow! You guys are _awesome_! -throws virtual cookies to audience-

But down to business.

I have recieved a question I thought I should answer, and since I was planning to write a note about this eventually anyway, I figure-why not do it sooner rather than later? So, the question was about what cats I was going to write about; specificly whether or not I'd only write oneshots on cats with songs. The answer, my friends, is a resounding OF COURSE NOT! I'm actually very excited for the non-song cats I'm writing for, mostly because my favorite one planned involves making fun of fangirls like us, lol. It'll be interesting, to say the least, to write for a character who is the one thing I claim I'm not even though I clearly am, if not in the conventional sense. (Have you figured out who it is yet? ^.^)

On that note, here is what I truly wanted to write to you about in the first place:

I'm taking requests.

Yes, that's right; I'm taking requests for which cats' families you want to see! Other than the ones I have up so far, I have planned for-in no particular order-

Mungojerrie/Rumpleteazer, Skimbleshanks, Jennyanydots, Victoria, Etcetera, Old Deuteronomy, and one cat I'll let you just keep reading to find out about :D

If anyone out there has any ideas for cats and/or families you want to see, let me know ASAP! I'm more than willing to do it if I feel confident enough to write it without failing epicly! Just...be careful what you ask for. I won't always write what you want in the way you want if the muses don't let me, although I'll try my best. So, good luck to me and to you, haha!

But enough rambling from me. As you know from the previous chapter, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer are next, and it's going to be a humor fic. Hopefully you all enjoy it!

Thanks for reading! Luv you all!

Later!  
-MKL, signing out.

"And there's nothing at all to be done about that!" -Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer


	5. A Stolen Heiress Mugojerrie&Rumpleteazer

_Home Lives:  
__A Case Study_

Oneshot Summary: The Cat-Burgler Cats. A look into an hour with the rich owner of the famous dangerous duo Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. pre-/during-/post-musical (doesn't matter)

Story Type: Family, Humor

Next Chapter: Etcetera (Story Type: Family, Humor, "Romance" (not really XP)

Pairings: Canon (including one-sided) (possibly temporarily), I.E. MunkustrapDemeter AND OTHERS. Also look out for: TuggerBombalurina, SkimbleshanksJennyanydots, CoricopatTantomile, and whatever else pops up. I'll take your opinions into concideration. ^.^

Disclaimer: I don't own the "CATS" movie. If I owned the "CATS" movie, Mistoffelees would have a longer dance number and Gus would have been the one to go to the Heavyside Layer instead of Grizabella (after all, the poor man/cat IS older and probably deserved it more...). Go away now while I mourn this horrible loss.

_**Notes/Warnings (you only have to read what's bolded/italicized/underlined if you want):  
**_Nothing other than _**foul language**_. Silly Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer; you can't kill me just because you didn't steal anything here! I'm the authoress! Mwahaha. :3  
Now enough with the boring stuff; let's start the story! :D Yay!

_**Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer:  
**__**A Stolen Heiress**_

_(1)-_

_We go through the house like a hurricane,_

_And no sober person could take his oath!_

_Was it Mungojerrie? Or Rumpleteazer?_

_Or could you have sworn that it might've been both?_

_-(1)_

The twin cats Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were not know for being predictable. Unlike cats like Rum Tum Tugger, who you knew was going to do the opposite of what you want pretty much without exception, or Macavity, who would stir up problems without any provocation, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were more than willing to do what you wanted without making trouble. However, if you asked them to do something or even just made a comment, there was a fifty-fifty shot that they were going to completely ignore you/screw things up on purpose.

Thus was the life of a couple of mischievious eternal-kittens.

The twins were just as unpredictable when it came to the subject on their owners. The answers had, in the past, ranged from Mungojerrie's famous claim that they "make their 'ome in _Vic_toria Grove," to Rumpleteazer's announcement that they were "incurab'ly given ta roam!" to their group pronouncement of the ever-enjoyable "fuck off!" The only thing that the average Jellicle knew for sure was that the two enjoyed their lifestyle, no matter who their owner/owners was/were, or else Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer wouldn't be there at all.

Too bad no Jellicle could see the average day in the homelife of a certain two cats...

"Oh, you're so adorable!" cooed Mrs. Abagail Septium, holding her cat out in front of her with an absolutely huge smile on her face. "I _can't_ believe I didn't think of this outfit sooner! Oh, oh, I simply _must_ tell Vernon!" Without warning, Mrs. Abagail set down the cat heavily on her dresser and waggled her finger at it. "Now you stay here, Rose; I'll be _right_ back with Vernon to show him how cute you are! Oh, Vernon! Vernon!"

It was almost as soon as Mrs. Abagail swept out of the room and closed the door with a light bang that Mungojerrie slunk out of hiding.

"Thought she'd nevah leave," he noted absently, glancing over his shoulder before leaning his head back to look up the large for even a human expense of dresser. He raised his voice a bit. "Teazah! Whut're ya doin'? Why don't ya come down an' say 'hi' to your dear ol' brother!"

"I refuse ta move!" came Rumpleteazer's slightly muffled and clearly mortified voice from up on the dresser.

Slowly, Mungojerrie blinked before smirking mischieviously. "Alrigh', then, Teazah, I'll jus' come ta you."

"NOOO!"

Despite himself, Mungojerrie stumbled while rising when he heard the panicked tone to his sister's yowling voice. Mischieviousness was almost instantly covered by concern for his only sibling as Mungojerrie quickly lept into action, climbing up a chair and then jumping on various unseeable places to make his way to the top of the dresser. With a hiss of warning to whatever had made his sister shout so desperately, Mungojerrie arrived on the dresser with fangs beared, ears pulled back, hackles raised, tail erect, and fur bristling-

Only to suddenly burst out laughing when he saw what his sister looked like, all protective instincts forgotten as he suddenly collapsed in a fit of gut-wrenching giggles.

"Y-you-!" he managed to gasp out before the giggles overtook him again. He took a few moments before trying again. "T-T-Teaz-"

The attempts to speak were useless and Mungojerrie collapsed again, banging a paw into the desk top and burrying his face in his arm to try and regain his composure.

"It's not funny, Jer," mumbled Rumpleteazer self-consciously, glancing away only to grimance when she caught sight of her own reflection in the mirror.

The great Rumpleteazer, feared by all for her dangerous fighting style, tomboyishness, and tendancy to swipe anything that wasn't nailed down when in the right mood, was dressed in a pink dress. Not only was it a pink dress, but it was a hot pink dress with sparkles and ruffles and a skirt that nearly swallowed up the lower half of her body. Her human had painted her tails a shade of bright pink to match and placed a large, also pink, diamond-encrusted tiara on her head directly between her lowered ears. When Rumpleteazer's tail swished around to curl protectively around her back legs (or at least where her back legs would have been had they been visible through the numerous ruffles), it was revealed that a bright pink bow as large as Mungojerrie's ego (which was quite large) was tied close to the tip, with a diamond clip in the shape of a crown keeping it from unravelling.

Suffice to say that Rumpleteazer was both horrified and pissed off as a result.

Slowly, Mungojerrie managed to regain himself enough to look Rumpleteazer in the face, although his wiskers were twitching and his lips were curled into a wide smirk. "On tha contrary, I think ya look-er-whut's tha word?" he wondered before the smirk somehow managed to become even wider. "Ah, '_adorable_'."

"Shut up, ya bastard!" Rumpleteazer hissed with a glare, ears pushing back and the fur on the back of her neck-the only part of her that was the way she would want it, with a strand of large, gaudy pearls trailing around it, and not weighted down by heavy _pink_ material-standing on end. "Ya wouldn't think i'twhus funny if it 'appened ta _you_!"

Mungojerrie had to concead that point. "Prob'bly not." His slightly somber look morphed back into his eternally amused grin. "But you would, Teazah, so I dun't feel bad at all! 'Sides, I'm a bloke; not likely for me ta end up in pretty pink ribbons an' bows."

A glare was recieved and Rumpleteazer went to open her mouth to retort, but suddenly her ears twitched and she glanced towards the door with a slight, grim smile in place. Before Mungojerrie could run, it had opened to reveal a pouting Mrs. Abagail.

"Sorry, Rose, but I couldn't find Vernon," she said morosely, looking honestly disappointed. However, as soon as her eyes landed on Mungojerrie, they lit up and she smiled widely. She had scooped up the other cat without warning and looked at his body with a sparkle to her gaze that had the elder twin suddenly...rather uneasy...

"I've been looking for you, Alonzo, dearest!" Mrs. Abagail cooed as a shudder ran down Mungojerrie's body. It wasn't so much due to the fact that his owner had unintentionally named him after the third-in-command in the Jellicle tribe (although that didn't help, and it earned him much prolonged teasing from Rumpleteazer whenever they were reminded of it) as due to the continued sparkle in her eye that Mungojerrie just _knew_ meant trouble! "I found this handsome outfit for you just the other day!"

Rumpleteazer giggled loudly and obnoxiously as Mungojerrie felt his stomach drop down to the very-far-away floor. Oh, no...he was..._caught_...

Ten minutes later, Rumpleteazer smirked at him as the two posed for a picture, as requested by their human.

"Ya look 'andsome, Jer," she chirped a bit too brightly, in Mungojerrie's sour opinion.

"'S not funny," he mumbled in return. Rumpleteazer's laughter was his only response.

_**Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer:  
**__**Epilog**_

Three years later, Mrs. Abagail divorced her husband shortly after discovering that he had been cheating on her. She recieved the house, most of the furniture, and a good chunk of the money for her troubles, the feeling of satisfaction further sealed in when she also won custody of her adorable cats, Rose and Alonzo, as well. The cats remained with her for another six years before they went out one day and never came back. It didn't take long for Mrs. Abagail to come to the conclusion that at least one of them had likely died.

Three months later, Mrs. Abagail went to the local shelter and found, to her shock, two cats who looked nearly identical to her recently departed felines, save the lack of grooming or microchip. She instantly adopted the two and named them Daisy and Tom, wondering sometimes if it was a miricle when she realized they acted almost exactly like her dearly missed first-ever pets.

The picture of her cats Rose and Alonzo-Rose in a fluffy pink princess dress with a cute bow around her tail, and the cat's favorite strand of pearls around her neck; Alonzo in a smart black suit complete with shiny black shoes on his paws and a large red rose in the lapel, his fur slicked back almost comicly in what Mrs. Abagail thought was an absolutely adorable way-never left her side.


	6. A Writer's Excuse

_Home Lives:  
__A Case Study_

Disclaimer: I don't own the "CATS" movie. If I owned the "CATS" movie, Mistoffelees would have a longer dance number and Gus would have been the one to go to the Heavyside Layer instead of Grizabella (after all, the poor man/cat IS older and probably deserved it more...). Go away now while I mourn this horrible loss.

_**Notes/Warnings (you only have to read what's bolded/italicized/underlined if you want):  
**_Nothing other than me talking. But I must warn you-**_I ramble_**. Mwahahahahaha! X3

_**MegaKiraraLover:  
**__**A Writer's Excuse**_

6-20-10

Hiya everyone! MKL here, to let you guys know a few things about this fic/series.

Okay, so normally I'm not one to give excuses, but I think you all deserve an explination as to why I've suddenly stopped daily updates to this.

You see, I have a mission trip this week with my father and brother's church. Normally anything church-related wouldn't affect me (I'm not exactly the most religious person ever), but since it is a mission trip to help people in need, I decided to help out. Too bad that for the past five days my father has been running me into the ground with errands...can you say 'dead' and 'sleep deprived'? But it's for a good cause and I won't complain, since I offered to come and help in the first place.

But it suddenly occurs to me that I will now be gone for another ten days in North Carolina, in one of the poorest counties rebuilding churches and houses and stores and stuffff. That means NO UPDATES (which, let's face it, is the important thing here lol) for at least two weeks while I go do that, then rest and recover from at least nine sleepless nights in a row. Wow. That sounds really intimidating now that I see it in writing...aaaaahhhh... XP

Anyway! The point of this note is to appologize for not updating lately and warn you all that I won't for a while. Please don't think I've forgotten about this; it's one of my favorite WiP and I can't wait to continue! Hopefully I'll even see a cat that looks like a Jellicle on my trip and be further inspired, haha. :) So forgive me and keep with the story, please! Thankies!

See you all in two weeks! Later!  
-MKL, signing out.

"This is subtracting from my arts and crafts time." -Sho Minamimoto, The World Ends With You (NDS)


	7. A Similar Counterpart Etcetera

_Home Lives:  
__A Case Study_

Oneshot Summary: The Obsession Cat. A look into an hour with the frightening owner of the young Rum Tum Tugger fangirl Etcetera. pre-/during-/post-musical (doesn't matter)

Story Type: Family, Humor, "Romance" (not really XP)

Next Chapter: Victoria (Story Type: Family, Hurt/Comfort, Suspense, Tragedy)

Pairings: Canon (including one-sided) (possibly temporarily), I.E. MunkustrapDemeter AND OTHERS. Also look out for: TuggerBombalurina, SkimbleshanksJennyanydots, CoricopatTantomile, and whatever else pops up. I'll take your opinions into concideration. ^.^

Disclaimer: I don't own the "CATS" movie. If I owned the "CATS" movie, Mistoffelees would have a longer dance number and Gus would have been the one to go to the Heavyside Layer instead of Grizabella (after all, the poor man/cat IS older and probably deserved it more...). Go away now while I mourn this horrible loss.

_**Notes/Warnings (you only have to read what's bolded/italicized/underlined if you want):  
**_Nothing other than _**foul language**_ and _**not-quite-stalking**_. No, Etcetera, don't tackle Tugger! He's busy-...too late. -.-;;;;  
Now enough with the boring stuff; let's start the story! :D Yay!

_**Etcetera:  
**__**A Similar Counterpart**_

_(1)-_

_Tugger: And there's no-doin' anything-_

_Abou-wow-wowwowwow, wooooooooowwww!_

_Etcetera: SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!_

_Tugger: -rolls eyes- -stuffs tail into Etcetera's mouth-_

_About it.-(1)_

As anyone can assure you, there was no bigger Rum Tum Tugger fangirl than the adorable and exhasperating kitten Etcetera. She had been obsessed with the elder Jellicle for as long as anyone could remember, following him with hearts in her eyes whenever they were both at the Junkyard at the same time (which was happening less and less often as Tugger became more and more annoyed). No one quite knew why with the notable exceptions of Mistoffelees (who seemed deeply amused), Munkustrap (who beamed proudly, even though he didn't answer), Tugger (who made a face and muttered about mistakes), and Etcetera herself (who squee'd and promptly zoned out into her own little world).

But that was pretty much the only mystery when it came to Etcetera.

While most Jellicles were tight-lipped about their lives when it came to humans, Etcetera always jumped to the occasion when anyone showed even mild interest. She would rave for hours about her adorable human and how the two were perfect for each other, about all the little facts of her human that were boring to anyone but Etcetera, about how the the human had sworn on her pride to take Etcetera to the first concert she ever went to. All in all, while most cats were offended by questions on their homelives, Etcetera was more than happy to answer anything-asked or not-if only for the chance to ramble with a reason.

The only thing about her owner that Etcetera didn't see the need to tell anyone was about how, er, "eccentric" she was...

"-I know, right? But seriously, if John _really_ loves her like he claims, he'd come crawling back on his hands and knees. Buy her dinner or something and beg for forgiveness. Hehe, wouldn't that be just sooooo romantic? Yeah, totally! Awww, now I want _my_ boyfriend to cheet on _me_ so that _I_ can tell everyone how sweet his make-up attempts are..."

This was the conversation that Etcetera walked in on one afternoon before mewing as loudly as she could. Her owner, Sarah, abruptly stopped talking into the phone as her eyes lit up almost comically.

"Call ya back, Amy," she said simply before hanging up. She grinned at the cat in the doorway. "Heeeeey, Duchess! C'mere!"

Obediently, Etcetera bounded into the room and into her owner's lap, purring innocently as she arched her back against Sarah's hand in an attempt to be pet. Sarah complied with a sly grin.

"Y'know, you've been out more and more lately, Duchess, hun. Wanna tell me why?" Etcetera mewed again and Sarah squealed loudly, abruptly taking Etcetera around her middle and lifting the Jellicle to face-level. "Ooooh! You found your very own Thomas, didn't you! The butler became jealous I spend so much attention to you and stole you and-err-your three favorite stuffed animals away and Thomas found you and helped you and the stuffed animals get back and he fell in love with you along the way and oooh, it's so ROMANTIC!"

Etcetera gave a slow blink. "Mew/Huh?"

"Now don't you dare try to make me think otherwise," Sarah said with false sternness, setting down Etcetera and leaning forward so they were still looking each other in the face. "That's why I named ya Duchess, y'know, because I was hoping you'd find love just like the one in that Disney movie! So." A too-bright-to-be-a-smirk-but-not-quite-a-grin crossed Sarah's fourteen-year-old features. "Who's the lucky Tom? Is it that nice-looking orange cat that came by the other day? He looks a bit old for you-but he was so cute! Ahaha..."

A feeling of horror overcame Etcetera at the thought. Sure, Skimbleshanks was nice and all, but he was totally too old for her! And, like, he was already mated! Well, that wasn't really much of a problem (Jellicles could mate to as many cats as wanted so long as everyone involved was alright with it), but she was as much a romantic as her owner and refused to mate to anyone but her love-Rum Tum Tugger. She supposed she wouldn't mind if he wanted to keep Bombalurina as a sex toy, but Etcetera would be his one _TRUE_ love if it was the last thing she did!

Meanwhile these rambling thoughts went through Etcetera's head, Sarah was babbling as well.

"He even looks like the Thomas in the movie! Of course, you have too much gold fur to be concidered looking like Duchess, but who needs details?" the human wondered aloud. When she noticed her cat hadn't even mewed, Sarah blinked slowly. "Er-Duchess? Duchess?" A pause. "...you know I was joking, right; like I always am when I talk about the 'Perfect Romance'?"

But Etcetera was too far gone in her delusions of Tugger to hear.

_**Etcetera:  
**__**Epilog**_

Seven years later, Sarah and her cat, Duchess, were in collage when she met a nice young man by the name of Dylan who was a business major and started a three-year romance that ended in their marrage. Duchess was at the wedding with a few of her cat friends (including the orange cat Sarah had noticed a years ago, much to the bride's amusement), but disappeared shortly afterward.

Sarah gave herself a year of mourning before a black and cream cat caught her attention and she bought it from a Petland, naming the cat-Belle. She had no way of knowing that the cat was Duchess' older sister (better known as Electra, for those of you reading) and that Duchess was always watching over her eccentric owner. Too bad she, unlike her owner, never grew out of her romantic phase...

* * *

_**PS from Authoress: **__-frowns up at writing- Not too happy with how this one turned out, but I vowed to myself that I would post any chapters I wrote, whether I liked them or not. I just wanted to let everyone know that this is below my normal bar of acceptability (WAY below it) and that next chapter will be better, so don't give up on me just yet! :O And I'm sorry about the lack of updates, but I've had some familial problems and personal issues to deal with, so we're lucky anything was posted at all, to be honest. Please bear with me; I don't really want to worry you all, but there might not be an update for a while. Sorry! :'((((_

_Later! -MKL, signing out._


End file.
